"Space Race Blastoff opens NASA's history and research to a wide new audience of people accustomed to using social media," David Weaver, a NASA spokesman, said in a statement.

"Space experts and novices will learn new things about how exploration continues to impact our world," Weaver said.

NASA has been quick to adopt Facebook, Twitter and other social networking tools and offers Foursquare badges to visitors to a number of NASA facilities, including the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and mission control in Houston.